House Bill 412

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 25-11-113, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972,
TO REVISE REQUIREMENTS FOR REFILING CLAIMS FOR DISABILITY RETIREMENT ALLOWANCES
UNDER THE PUBLIC EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

25-11-113.
(1) (a) Upon the application of a member or his
employer, any active member in state service who has at least four (4) years of
membership service credit may be retired by the board of trustees on the first
of the month following the date of filing such application on a disability
retirement allowance, but in no event shall the disability retirement allowance
commence before termination of state service, provided that the medical board,
after a medical examination, shall certify that the member is mentally or
physically incapacitated for the further performance of duty, that such
incapacity is likely to be permanent, and that the member should be retired;
however, the board of trustees may accept a disability medical determination
from the Social Security Administration in lieu of a certification from the
medical board. For the purposes of
disability determination, the medical board shall apply the following
definition of disability: the inability
to perform the usual duties of employment or the incapacity to perform such
lesser duties, if any, as the employer, in its discretion, may assign without
material reduction in compensation, or the incapacity to perform the duties of
any employment covered by the Public Employees' Retirement System (Section 25-11-101
et seq.) that is actually offered and is within the same general territorial
work area, without material reduction in compensation. The employer shall be
required to furnish the job description and duties of the member. The employer shall further certify whether
the employer has offered the member other duties and has complied with the
applicable provisions of the Americans With Disabilities Act in affording
reasonable accommodations which would allow the employee to continue
employment.

(b) Any inactive member with
four (4) or more years of membership service credit, who has withdrawn from
active state service, is not eligible for a disability retirement allowance
unless the disability occurs within six (6) months of the termination of active
service and unless satisfactory proof is presented to the board of trustees
that the disability was the direct cause of withdrawal from state service.

(c)
If the medical board certifies that the member is not mentally or
physically incapacitated for the future performance of duty, the member may
request, within sixty (60) days, a hearing before the hearing officer as
provided in Section 25-11-120. All
hearings shall be held in accordance with rules and regulations adopted by the
board of trustees to govern such hearings.
Such hearing may be closed upon the request of the member.

(d)
The medical board may request additional medical evidence and/or other
physicians to conduct an evaluation of the member's condition. If the medical board requests additional
medical evidence and the member refuses the request, the application shall be
considered void.

(e) If the board denies an application for disability retirement
allowance, the member may refile his application for disability retirement one
hundred twenty (120) days after such denial if:

(i) The member did not appeal the determination denying the
disability retirement allowance; and

(ii) The member's disability continues or
worsens.

(2)
Allowance on disability retirement.

(a)
Upon retirement for disability, an eligible member shall receive a
retirement allowance if he has attained the age of sixty (60) years.

(b)
Except as provided in paragraph (c) of this subsection (2), an eligible
member who is retired for disability and who has not attained sixty (60) years
of age shall receive a disability benefit as computed in Section 25-11-111(d)(1)
through (d)(4) which shall consist of:

(i) A member's annuity which shall be the actuarial equivalent of his
accumulated contributions at the time of retirement; and

(ii) An employer's annuity equal to the amount that would have been
payable as a retirement allowance for both membership service and prior service
had the member continued in service to the age of sixty (60) years, which shall
apply to the allowance for disability retirement paid to retirees receiving
such allowance upon and after April 12, 1977.
This employer's annuity shall be computed on the basis of the average
"earned compensation" as defined in Section 25-11-103.

(c)
For persons who become members after June 30, 1992, and for active
members on June 30, 1992, who elect benefits under this paragraph (c) instead of
those provided under paragraph (b) of this subsection (2), the disability
allowance shall consist of two (2) parts:
a temporary allowance and a deferred allowance.

The temporary allowance shall equal the
greater of (i) forty percent (40%) of average compensation at the time of
disability, plus ten percent (10%) of average compensation for each of the
first two (2) dependent children, as defined in Sections 25-11-103 and 25-11-114,
or (ii) the accrued benefit based on actual service. It shall be payable for a period of time based on the member's
age at disability, as follows:

Age at Disability Duration

60
and earlier to age 65

61 to age 66

62 to age 66

63 to age 67

64 to age 67

65 to age 68

66 to age 68

67 to age 69

68 to age 70

69
and over one year

The deferred allowance shall commence when
the temporary allowance ceases and shall be payable for life. The deferred allowance shall equal the
greater of (i) the allowance that would have been payable had the member
continued in service to the termination age of the temporary allowance, but no
more than forty percent (40%) of average compensation, or (ii) the accrued
benefit based on actual service at the time of disability. The deferred allowance as determined at the
time of disability shall be adjusted in accordance with Section 25-11-112 for
the period during which the temporary annuity is payable. In no case shall a member receive less than
Ten Dollars ($10.00) per month for each year of service and proportionately for
each quarter year thereof reduced for the option selected.

(d)
The member may elect to receive the actuarial equivalent of the
disability retirement allowance in a reduced allowance payable throughout life
under any of the provisions of the options provided under Section 25-11-115.

(e)
Should a disability retiree who has not selected an option under Section
25-11-115 die before being repaid in disability benefits the sum of his total
contributions, then his named beneficiary shall receive the difference in cash,
which shall apply to all deceased disability retirees from and after January 1,
1953.

(3)
Reexamination of retirees retired on account of disability. Except as otherwise provided in this
section, once each year during the first five (5) years following retirement of
a member on a disability retirement allowance, and once in every period of
three (3) years thereafter, the board of trustees may, and upon his application
shall, require any disability retiree who has not yet attained the age of sixty
(60) years or the termination age of the temporary allowance under paragraph
(2)(c) of this section to undergo a medical examination, such examination to be
made at the place of residence of said retiree or other place mutually agreed
upon by a physician or physicians designated by the board. The board, however, in its discretion, may
authorize the medical board to establish reexamination schedules appropriate to
the medical condition of individual disability retirees. Should any disability retiree who has not
yet attained the age of sixty (60) years or the termination age of the
temporary allowance under paragraph (2)(c) of this section refuse to submit to
any medical examination provided herein, his allowance may be discontinued
until his withdrawal of such refusal; and should his refusal continue for one
(1) year, all his rights to a disability benefit shall be revoked by the board
of trustees.

(4)
If the medical board reports and certifies to the board of trustees,
after a comparable job analysis or other similar study, that such disability
retiree is engaged in, or is able to engage in, a gainful occupation paying
more than the difference between his disability allowance, exclusive of cost of
living adjustments, and the average compensation, and if the board of trustees
concurs in such report, the disability benefit shall be reduced to an amount
which, together with the amount earnable by him, shall equal the amount of his
average compensation. If his earning
capacity be later changed, the amount of the said benefit may be further
modified, provided that the revised benefit shall not exceed the amount
originally granted. A retiree receiving
a disability benefit who is restored to active service at a salary less than
the average compensation shall not become a member of the retirement system.

(5)
Should a disability retiree under the age of sixty (60) years or the
termination age of the temporary allowance under paragraph (2)(c) of this
section be restored to active service at a compensation not less than his
average compensation, his disability benefit shall cease, he shall again become
a member of the retirement system, and contributions shall be withheld and
reported. Any such prior service
certificate, on the basis of which his service was computed at the time of
retirement, shall be restored to full force and effect. In addition, upon his subsequent retirement
he shall be credited with all creditable service as a member, but the total
retirement allowance paid to the retired member in his previous retirement
shall be deducted from his retirement reserve and taken into consideration in
recalculating the retirement allowance under a new option selected.

(6)
If following reexamination in accordance with the provisions contained
in this section, the medical board determines that a retiree retired on account
of disability is physically and mentally able to return to the employment from
which he is retired, the board of trustees, upon certification of such findings
from the medical board, shall, after a reasonable period of time, terminate the
disability allowance, whether or not the retiree is re-employed or seeks such
re-employment. In addition, if the
board of trustees determines that the retiree is no longer sustaining a loss of
income as established by documented evidence of the retiree's earned income,
the eligibility for a disability allowance shall terminate and the allowance
terminated within a reasonable period of time.
In the event the retirement allowance is terminated under the provisions
of this section, the retiree may subsequently qualify for a retirement
allowance under Section 25-11-111 based on actual years of service credit plus
credit for the period during which a disability allowance was paid.

(7)
Any current member as of June 30, 1992, who retires on a disability
retirement allowance after June 30, 1992, and who has not elected to receive
benefits under paragraph (2)(c) of this section, shall relinquish all rights
under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, as amended, with regard
to the benefits payable under this section.

SECTION
2. This act shall take effect and
be in force from and after July 1, 2002.